Human Type – Reality Proved

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All humans are not of the same calibre, emotionally, intellectually, creatively. Some can write poetry, novels and prose; some can make inventions and some can do hard labour. While on the other side, some live life simply to live life and many live life in dull-murk inertia.

Mental and physical activities of humans and other living organisms are produced by brain. The brain activities are executed by Excitation and Inhibition of the sensory centres in the central nervous system. Excitation and Inhibition are guided by reflexes. Reflexes are the established contact links of nerve to nerve communication. The nerve to nerve communication of reflexes is necessary for sensory experiences produced by stimuli emanating from various environs.

Environs go on changing constantly: Sometimes it is normal and at other times it fluctuates with higher and lower intensities. In order to keep balance with the fluctuating influence of the environs brain as a whole especially the nerve cells in the sensory areas of the cortex have to bear the burden of changes to keep equilibrium of its reactions. But the physical structure of every human being is not equally fit enough to keep the equilibrium. While a section of the people keep their behaviour balanced some others appear week, some provocative, some imaginative, some sleepish and dreamy. It all depends upon each individual’s neuro-physical structure alongside with congenital factors. As a result behaviour and temperaments of humans vary from person to person.

During the pre-scientific era of the yore, philosophers made umpteen attempts to classify the types of people on the basis of their temperament. They presumed that humans belong to many types depending upon their temperaments and behaviors.  The Greek Physician-Philosopher Hippocrates, who belonged to the era four hundred years before Jesus Christ was born, was successful in identifying four basic types of humans depending upon their behaviour and temperaments.  According to Hippocrates, these types are Choleric, Phlegmatic, Sanguine and Melancholic.

Choleric type of person is quick, active and practical. These persons are strong-willed, self-sufficient, and independent. They have vivid opinions and they make easy decisions for themselves and others.

Phlegmatic type is generally of well-balanced temperaments:  They are calm, cool, slow and easy going. They do not get excited; they are happy and pleasant; they hardly interfere in the affairs of others. They are consistent; they are a combination of multitudes of abilities.

Sanguine is that type of person who is always warm, buoyant and lively. Sanguine is receptive; Sanguine recognizes the feelings of others; feelings rather than thoughts predominate the decision making of the Sanguine type.

Melancholy is considered as dark temperament:  By nature Sanguine type of people are introverts. They live under the cloud of different moods; moods lead them to ecstasy.

Hippocrates’s argument for transformation of various types was based on a misconceived idea that different types of liquid surge in the body of people and the liquid turn them to different types of temperaments. The concept of body liquid theory was already discarded.  The great Physiologist, Dr. Ivan Petrovich Pavlov, closely examined the classification of human types to confirm whether there was neurological truth in the subjective theory propounded by Hippocrates.  Pavlov’s investigations brought to light many hitherto hidden truths about human type.

Excitation and inhibition are the basic nerve processes of brain.  Strength, mobility and balance of these basic nerve processes vary depending upon the nature of nerve cells.  Pavlov proved that Choleric types of people are those whose nervous activity of excitation predominates inhibition. People with predominance of inhibition over excitation, are Phlegmatic.  Sanguine are those with balanced excitation and inhibition. Melancholic are the type where both the nerve processes of excitation and inhibition are weak and feeble.

Pavlov’s investigations did not stop at identifying the nerve processes behind Types: He went ahead revealing peculiarities of various types and distinguished three Strong Types and one Weak Type of nervous system.  He characterized them as (1) Strong type with predominance of excitation under the Choleric type, (2) Strong type with predominance of inhibition under Choleric type, (3) Strong type with balanced processes of excitation and inhibition under Phlegmatic type  and (4) Weak type with weak processes of both excitation and inhibition under Sanguine type.

Ivan Pavlov investigated further to establish the link of Type with the first and the second signal systems of communication. [First Signal System is the means of communication through Signs and Symbols. Second Signal system is the means of communication through words]. Pavlov found that Artistic Type of people have predominance of First Signal System as compared to the Second Signal System. Intellectual Type is the one endowed with predominance of Second Signal System as means of communication compared to First Signal System.  And there is an Intermediate Type with both First and Second signal systems balanced. People of artistic type perceive reality vividly, imaginatively.They feel confident in their surroundings. People of intellectual type are not inclined to ratiocination and doubt and they always turn indecisive in their day to day life.

Poetry, novels, short stories, philosophical doctrines are the creations of humans. Inventions for existence and inventions for destruction are the creations of humans. Society, social order, rules, regulations, customs, beliefs, dogmas, politics and governance are the creations of humans. Skill and ability of creations are bestowed on the humans according to their Type. Success or failure, whatever it be, all depends upon the Type. Type, yes type, that is what decides humans among humans.

Cognitive Disorders – Illusions, Hallucinations, Delusions

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Human mind is storehouse of complexities. The complexities surpass all other living organisms mainly because of the two-fold communication skills of First Signal System and Second Signal System both of which are viable to human brain. Let us have a look at it:

Sensory centres in the human brain interact with stimuli emanating from the environs with the aid of sense organs. Cognitive ability of the brain is the direct result of the interaction of the sensory centres.  There are situations where cognition gets refracted and disorderly due to malfunctioning or improper functioning of the sensory centres.

Brain activity that reflects the objective reality of the outside world begins with Sensations. Brain does not react directly with the outside objects but it acts through receptors called sense organs. Sensation is the primary mental activity and it is the initial stage of cognitive process. The process of reflection of objective reality does not stop at the initial stage. A person gets not only the individual qualities of an object as cognition but the object itself as a whole. The process of mental activity by or through which the entire phenomena is reflected, involving unity and judgment, not only individual properties but the object in its entirety is known as Perception.

Everything one sees, hears or feels is reflected through Perception.  The cognitive ability up to the level of perception is common to animals and humans but the cognitive capability of humans is at a higher level due to the complexity of brain development. The distinction is attributable to Conception. Conception belongs to Second Signal System that is the means of communication through words. It is specifically separate from the First Signal System of means of communication through Signs and Symbols. The transformation of cognitive capability of the brain through sensations and perceptions supplemented by Conception pass through Evaluation and Judgment to become memory. Memory is human ability to retain traces of past perceptions and sensations and to reproduce them as concepts. This is where the cognitive activities of central nervous system of humans sustain its generality for normal existence. However there arise situations which affect cognitive functions and end up in deflected experiences for the individuals. Such deflections generate experiences which are outside generality. What is commonly known as Illusions, Hallucinations and Delusions belongs to the deflected experiences.

Illusion is a distorted or a false perception of an existing thing or matter in the environs. The experience of illusion is deceptive but it need not necessarily be serious derangement of the mind. For example, in hot summer season, highway vehicle drivers see a mirage which is an illusion but not a serious one.  Persons who are in affective state of sensory function due to extreme beliefs, fear and anxiety become victims of deranged consciousness.  They experience very deep visual, auditory, olfactory or other illusions which are serious in nature.  Take the case of mental patients: Cracks on walls, shadows on ceilings, wandering clouds in far away skies may appear to them as monsters, characters in mythology or denizens of heaven. Their experiences are illusions that belong to the serious category. Illusions occur to healthy individuals as well as mentally retarded persons when their cerebral hemispheres and its working are obliterated or reduced due to partial inactivity or inhibition of the sensory centres in their cortex.

Hallucination is an imaginary perception: Complete absence of objects of perception is its peculiarity. The false perception appears as real to the perceiver with external projection.  The perception occupies the same position in space as real objects do and it becomes so apparent to the perceiver that the authenticity of what is perceived is never doubted by the perceiver.

Hallucinations take place as a result of disorder or derangement of mind. The disorder or the derangement can be either of elementary nature or it can be complex with high intensity. Elementary hallucination is less serious compared to complex ones. Seeing sparks of light and hearing cracking sounds in the absence real object of vision or any source of the sound can be cited as examples for elementary hallucination. These experiences take place even while the perceiver is in total wakeful state with normal sensibility. On the other side, complex hallucinations are serious in intensity and nature:  Most hallucinations belong to auditory, visual, olfactory and gustatory sensory centres. A serious mental patient may hear voices that command him to do something or not to do something. The command could be that the patient shall kill himself or he shall go out and preach the gospel of god. In other situations, the patient would be seeing landscapes, angels roaming the heavens, god appearing before him to bless, demons chasing to devour him; all according to deep rooted beliefs.

Delusions are false opinions and beliefs which do not correspond with the true position of things and matters in the environs. They have morbid basis and are distorted and perverted reflection of objective reality.  Delusions and hallucinations are not of the same stature. Hallucinations are experiences while delusions are false opinions got deep rooted in the memory. Delusions do not correspond with reality. They are always at variance with reality and are not subject to criticism and correction. Delusion is a symptom of serious mental derangement.  It is difficult for the sufferers to free themselves out of the influence of delusions.

Illusions and Hallucinations take place when the cerebral cortex is in the transitory state of hypnotic phase. Delusions too belong to this transitory state but the bases of its arousal being strong conditioned nerve connections, the intensity of delusions remain unalterable.

It is necessary in this context to have a general understanding of natural sleep and hypnosis which is induced by idealistic practices.

While awake, the sensory centres in the cerebral hemispheres interact with stimuli from the environs and consequently the nerve cells lose energy due to the process of excitation. Then the cells pass on to restful, inactive state of inhibition. Such inhibitory state of the cells is what is commonly known as natural sleep. The very basis for the reach of the restful, inactive state of inhibition is continuous excitation.

Except for the natural environs, humans have created several other environs by way of beliefs, faiths, rituals, pursuits, societal norms, codes of conduct, behaviour, concepts of rights and wrongs, authority and abeyance and so many other conditions. The man made environs too lead to cerebral inhibition due to excitation provided by the artificial environs. The persons, who are extreme adherents to the man made environs, pass through the artificial inhibition akin to hypnosis in their cerebral hemispheres. They are the ones who become prey to the abnormal cognitive experiences. The partial sleep of hypnosis during its paradoxical phase brings in experiences of illusions and hallucinations. Delusions of patients suffering from serious mental disorders arise either in paradoxical hypnotic phase or in transition of paradoxical and ultra paradoxical hypnotic phases separately or intermittently.

Human mind is complex: The complexity has no idealistic basis. Mind is materialistic and it is the product of brain activity. Brain activity manifests desires and striving to make changes by way of acts and deeds. The manifestations are known as Volitional processes involving active attention.  Volitional processes are facilitated by Cognition. Illusions, hallucinations and delusions debilitate cognition: Persons who are victims of cognitive disorders are disgrace  for those who are sound and well-set in cognition process of the brain.

Word, – the Master Communicator

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‘Word’ is a complex tool of communication: The tool is available only to humans’.

Who invented word?  When was word invented? What way language came into being? Can there be language without the magic of ‘word’? Why animals, birds, and other living organisms cannot play the magic of ‘Word’? These are word-wise questions, but clear answers to the questions are still eluding. And that is word-world, the wonderful world of words.

There are no substantially meaningful exposure on the subject  till now and therefore there are no valid proof of evidence for the origin of ‘word’ and use of language. It is difficult to pin-point specific data as to when, where and who invented word.  However, it would be quite logical to conclude that spoken word belongs to the same process of evolution of Homo sapiens and words constitute language.

Compared to lower animals, one of the important developments that took place during evolution was formation of vocal chords in human physique.  Complexity of the nervous system in human-brain-activity followed by the development of vocal chords differentiated the Homo sapiens from the lower animals. As a result, unlike birds and animals which can just grunt shrieks and sounds, humans became capable of vocalizing specific sounds to indicate or represent specific situations.  Thus was where words originated as a means of communication among humans. The particular Communication System by use of words is unique. It is an acquired skill of human brain and not an inborn capability. That is the reason why an inborn child can just only grunt certain sounds to express its physical urges for months, before it picks up words from others around, during its growth. That process of picking up sounds of words by infants is conditioned reflex action.

In the beginning humans used words by means of specific sounds to communicate with their co-partners. When the expression of sounds by words became systemic in terms of needs and desires, the human brain paved the way for conditioned nerve connections akin to the specific sounds of words uttered by fellow-humans on their onward journey in the path of evolution. The words thus continued as means of communication in the disguised style of spoken language. From there it took thousands of years for advanced humans to invent a system to put down the spoken words in writing as a means of communication. Both ‘words’ and the word-induced ‘sounds’ are signals of communication.

Brain activity involves numerous reactions which enable the living organism to keep its survival tract as it is: Signals of words and sounds are very important reactions of brain activity in the survival tract of humans. Signals which communicate with each other among different species of living organisms including humans are classified under a Code name called, “Signal System”. It was the famous Physiologist, Dr. Ivan Petrovich Pavlov who classified means of communication into Signal Systems in 1932 during his research into the physiological mechanism of speech. There are two systems of signals by which ideas, information and knowledge are conveyed and received.

In animals reality is signalized by situations and the traces they leave behind in the cerebral hemispheres of its brain which come directly to the nerve cells through visual, auditory, olfactory or other receptors. This process is what humans also possess by way of impressions, sensations and notions in relation to the world around, the world that represents both the natural and the social environs. But there is a definite exception here in so far as ‘word’ that is heard or ‘word’ that is seen (in writing) is concerned.

Except for ‘word’ that is heard or word that is seen, the other mechanism of receiving and conveying reality of situations and traces they leave behind, belong to ‘First Signal System’.

The first signal system revolves around in the form of Signs and Symbols. It is common for both the animals and the humans.

Then there is the other system, namely the ‘Second Signal System’ which is in the exclusive possession of human brain. This exclusive human possession of Second Signal System is of words written and or of words spoken. The knowledge the word conveys would be of impressions, sensations, perceptions and conceptions in relation to the world around.

Process of understanding the meaning and knowledge that the word conveys, either separately or collectively, depends upon the working condition of the sensory centres in the cerebral cortex of each individual: Idiots, imbeciles and morons may not understand the meaning and or knowledge that word represents or conveys. But an intelligent person whose sensory reactions to signals from the environs are sharp, might in all probability, understand the meaning and knowledge a word conveys  with consistency as compared to a moron, imbecile or an idiot. That is not all: Words can force persons of normal mental conditions to undergo different feelings, emotions, pains, pleasures, imaginations and actions.

Humans cherish the additional capability of Second Signal System while they overtake animals, birds and other species including their friends and foes to maim and succeed. Humans think, evaluate and invent through the magic wand of Second Signal System with or without the support of the First Signal System. The first Signal System of Signs and Symbols and the Second Signal System of Words have made human race as the Super Specie of all.

Hypno Therapy And The Role Player Sentry Posts.

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Clinical Hypnosis is a system of treatment for mental disorders caused by the influence of environs. In other words, clinical hypnosis is Hypnotherapy practiced by appropriately trained clinicians who use word-suggestions to cure patients after putting them under hypnosis.

Researchers have confirmed that Hypnotherapy is free from side effects; it does not resort to use of medicines. In hypnotherapy the Hypnotist uses selected words of powerful suggestions for the purpose of therapy.

How hypnosuggestion brings out cures? Is there anything mysterious about it? These are two important questions that come up while evaluating hypnotherapy.

The physiological factors involved in Hypnotherapy, are not unfathomable brain activities. In hypnotherapy, the active player is neither the Hypnotist nor the Suggestions the Hypnotist spells out, but it is the ground work executed by Sentry Posts, the isolated but active points existing in the central nervous system.

Dictionary defines Sentry as a soldier stationed at a place to stand guard: The place where the Sentry stands guard is called Sentry Post. The Sentry Post takes care of the place within its jurisdiction to prevent unauthorized entries. The purpose of keeping a Sentry Post is to protect the premises and to save its inhabitants.

The engagement of Sentry Posts has become a life-style requirement of modern society. The practice ought to have become necessary as a sequence of job diversification and individual-cum-collective engagements of modern social order. In ancient times, parents and elders used to keep guard of their family and property. There used to be no Sentries and Sentry Posts in those days.

Guarding safety of the clan can be traced as a biological trait of living organisms. May be, it was one of the components of evolution of species. Ants and other insects keep twenty four hour vigil around the holes and the leaves where their female partners lay eggs. Birds keep constant watch over their nests where eggs and chicks are housed. The same is the case with animals and monkeys of all types. The insects, birds, animals and monkeys take over themselves the duty of Guards along with their routine work for food and means of survival.

The sentry posts which we find around the living organisms including humans are located in the premises where they live. But, then, what about the individual physique where the need of sentry posts is equally obvious? Apart from the body itself, there are innumerable invaders from outside the body to turtle the balance and equilibrium of the physic. For that too there exists ‘Sentry Posts’ in the brain; the sentry posts which are more vigilant and responsive than the sentry posts that human community deploy for its safety. Sentry Posts in human brain not only sends out alerts but it also nurtures memory for the safety of the physic.

In the year 1927, the great Physiologist, Dr. Ivan Petrovich Pavlov reached an irrevocable conclusion: It was about the existence of a Rapport Zone and certain points on duty in the zone: While awake, the cerebral hemispheres of human brain represent a ‘system’. The system coordinates all parts of the brain with each other. The Coordination enables the sensory centres in the cortex to produce collective response to stimuli from external environs. The response helps bodily activities and cognitive functions to take place. When the process continues, the nerve cells start losing energy. Consequently, the cerebral areas become inhibited and the inhibition spreads to the entire brain and the physique as a whole. There thus happens what is known as Natural Sleep.

In the said brain activity there is yet another sphere of inhibition which produces partial sleep called Hypnosis. During hypnosis, the coordination of the System becomes absent. As a result, each segment of the brain responds to external stimuli isolatedly. With reference to the partial, isolated inhibitory phase, I P Pavlov wrote:

“The following phenomenon is often observed: Inhibition spreads over the cerebral hemispheres and sleep sets in. Nevertheless, certain points which I call points on duty or on guard in the rapport zone may remain active without being faded by inhibition. This is observed, for example, in the sleep of a miller who wakes up when the noise of the mill ceases, or in the sleep of the mother who wakes up at the faintest sound coming from her child but who is not disturbed by much louder sounds.”

The sentry posts get rapport with any or all of which are of serious concerns of the physic as revealed in the Pavlovian experiment. As explained by the Scientist, the mother sleeping with her loved, newborn child by her side seldom responds to calls for waking up even if one tries hard by shouting. But the moment her child starts crying, though the sound of crying is feeble, the mother abruptly wakes up. As for the mother, the safety of her child is the utmost concern: Here the sentry posts alerted the sensory centres in the mother’s brain. The impact of the alert was her sudden waking up. Such is the sensibility of the sentry post.

The duty of the sentry post in human brain is to keep a watch over sensory reactions to stimuli emanating from internal or external environs. If the reaction affects the interests of the physic, sentry posts send signals of alert to the sensory centres which are in partial inhibition. The alert signals excite the nerve cells for immediate action.

Turning to hypnotism, the most serious concern of sentry post in the nervous system of the person under hypnosis is the subject himself or herself. Therefore the sentry posts in the subject’s brain automatically build rapport with the Hypnotizer or the Hypnotist through temporary nerve connections called conditioned reflex. These temporary nerve connections are formed by the repeat suggestions made by the Hypnotist. Thus Hypnotist gets rapport with the subject or the hypnotized, through the activation of sentry posts. This basic brain activity is used for treatment of deranged mental conditions of patients.

Sentry posts keep suggestions made during hypnotic sleep in memory to be remembered and acted upon in accordance with the suggestions imposed by the Hypnotist. What is suggested to the subject during hypnotic sleep would remain in the subject’s memory unless removed through reverse suggestions.

Mental aberrations connected with abnormal nervous activity due to the influence of environs which might form temporary nerve connections called conditioned reflexes in the brain, can be set right through hypnotherapy. The environs can either be internal or external or both the internal and the external. Internal environs involve the physic whereas the external environs represent all that is outside the body.

Disorders of muscular disarray, indigestion, breathing, cardiac functions et al belong to internal environs. External environs in the present context include natural furies, family, friends, foes, community, society, social order, rules, regulations, public utterances, ideological percepts, beliefs, religion, religious dictates, dogmas and similar other elements.

Mental imbalances may take place due to brain damages caused by injuries and serious diseases. In such cases hypnotherapy has only very limited role to play. Where the imbalances are created by the influence of stimuli emanating from various sources of environs, hypnotherapy can bring back normalcy to the patients. In such cases, the imbalance has been produced by conditioned reflexes.  It is such imbalances and aberrations laid by reflex action that are viable for hypnotherapy. Because of the rapport retained between sentry posts in the patient’s brain and the Hypnotist, repeat word suggestions for cure generate internal conditioned inhibition to deflect or redraw the conditioned reflex already formed which caused the earlier malady. It is the sentry posts in nervous system that helps therapists to cure the mental disorders through hypnosuggestion.

While under hypnosis, the sensory centres of the subject become isolated and independently react to stimuli without coordination between each other. As a result, the mind of the subject loses the faculty of reasoning. The situation demands the patients and relatives to be extra cautious while selecting the therapist because Suggestions of the Hypnotist will be acted upon by the patient’s sensory organs due to the irresistible rapport of the sentry posts.

In the above background, the hypnotherapist needs to be one who is clean in dealings with a personality of nascent behaviour apart from being appropriately trained. Besides, the Hypnotist shall have to ensure the presence of one or two close relatives of the patient inside the therapy centre as witnesses.

There are possibly no chances of causing injury to the patients by the Hypnotist through ill-intent suggestions because the sentry posts may force sudden waking up of the subject to react strongly against any misbehavior on the part of the hypnotist. However, the Hypnotherapist, the Patients and their near and dear Ones have to be cautious as cautious and alert as the Honorable Sentry Posts are.

Stress Management – Take the Tips.

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Busy professionals occasionally tell their colleagues,  “I am stressed up”. There is nothing unusual about the statement as such, for the professional would be really in stressful situations. But there is lacuna, in the statement. For instance, most people use the word ‘stress’ to express their preoccupation with busy schedules and the speed at which they have to carry out their duties. Stress in its true sense does not represent such state of affairs.

According to the Oxford Dictionary, stress is a state of affair involving demand on physical and mental energy. The dictionary adds further that a condition or circumstance which can disturb the normal physiological function is stress. In medical parlance, stress is defined as a perturbation of the body’s homeostasis.

The central nervous system has its protective mechanism to take care of the physic in normal and even in abnormal situations, to great extend. In challenging situations the nervous system prepares the physic for defensive action: This is done by releasing cortisone and adrenaline hormones. The hormones increase blood pressure to prepare the body to react to the situation created by increased demand on the physic. But when the body fails to counter the body-mind demand, the released hormones and the chemicals remain unused in the blood stream for long period of time. That situation compels the body in constant preparation to fight or flee. This is the basic background of acute stress and stress related consequences.

Timely detection of stress enables the affected person to take timely remedial measures and to save the situation. The common warning signs and symptoms of stress include memory loss, lack of concentration, poor judgment, seeing only the negative, anxious thoughts, constant worry, irritability, short temper, agitation, inability to relax, sense of loneliness and isolation, depression and unhappiness.

Untreated, acute stress will create  severe health hazards: They include body aches and pains, diarrhea, constipation, nausea, dizziness, chest pain, rapid heartbeat, loss of sex drive,  frequent colds, temptation for eating more or eating less, sleeping too much or sleeping too little, willful isolation from others, neglecting responsibilities and using alcohol and drugs as self help to relax.

Today, with the rapid diversification of human activity, almost everybody comes face to face with numerous stress situations. Stress originates from circumstances and environs to which human beings are condemned to respond and react. Such reactions are essential elements for survival and existence. The environs include needs of livelihood, relationship demands, chronic health problems, pressure at workplaces, traffic snarls, meeting deadlines, growing-up tensions, skill formations, competitions, different complexes and other social-cum-individualistic conditions. People react to these conditions in their own ways. Although the conditions invoke stress, such stress situations do not affect the majority. In some persons, however, the induced stress tends to persist and intensify as days pass on. These are the people who need to take care of the situation and choose measures for stress management.

Learning to understand the conditions and environs behind stress situations is the first and foremost requirement to manage and to control the ill-effects of acute stress that affects even the mental equilibrium of the afflicted. There are many methods for coping up with stress. Usually practiced methods are change in lifestyle, relaxation techniques and physical exercises, listening to soothing music, deep breathing and personality development; Clinical hypnosis is another trusted treatment for Stress. These measures might help a stressed up persons to a great extent and save them from the malady. But once the person stops the exercises, it is very likely that the individual may slowly and steadily start facing the pains of Stress, again.

The signs and symptoms of stress can also be caused by other psychological and medical problems. For a person experiencing any of the warning signs of stress, it is important for the person to see a doctor for a full evaluation. A competent medical practitioner can help determine whether or not the symptoms are stress-born.

Several studies and researches have confirmed that stress in moderate level is necessary for survival in the path of existence.  Stress responses are body’s best defense mechanism against inner and outer dangers: In a risky situation body releases stress hormones which instantly make the physic more alert and focused. Thereby the body gets prepared to act with increased strength and speed. It keeps a person sharp and ready for action. As a result moderate stress increases performance and induce people to discover their inherent talents.

The best way to deal with Stress is to welcome the stress: Let not panic and wilt of stress ever hamper the journey in the path of successful survival.

Prayer And Divine Cures.

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The word “prayer” has its origin in the old French word ‘preiere’:  ‘Preiere’  means, “to obtain by entreaty”.

Every one, everywhere, knows what prayer is and what for is prayer offered. Taken for granted, even domestic animals know the essence of prayer, may be, in a different context: When a pet dog is hungry, it screams in a peculiar way; Cattle and goats are no different. The screams and cries of hungry domestic animals are signals sent out to draw  the attention of their foster Masters, for feeds. In a sense, moods expressed by these animals are prayers for benevolence.

‘Prayer’ is explained as a solemn request for help or expression of thanks addressed to god or to an object of worship. Prayer is, therefore, a religious service offered by believers. But outside religion, prayer may mean an earnest request without the divine shades, either for favours or for rights. For example, in traditional Judicial System, petitioners would address the Judges, “I pray, Your Lord”.

As in the case of every thought and action, evaluation and conclusion is the propriety of human nature: According to the propriety Prayers have been divided into different types: They include ADORATION Prayers, CONFESSION Prayers, THANKSGIVING Prayers, SUPPLICATION Prayers and INTERCESSORY Prayers directed to god for the benefit of others.

Praising the Almighty god is Adoration Prayer. Adoration forms an important part of verses meant for propitiating god. In Confession Prayers devotees confess their sins to god for forgiveness. Thanksgiving Prayer is meant to express gratitude to the Almighty for the favours received by the faithful. It is by and through Supplication Prayer that believers seek blessings for themselves and their family. In Intercessory Prayer, the believer or a group of believers beg to god for showering mercy on others, for curing diseases of others.

For long, the question how far is prayer effective or beneficial to cure illnesses has been a serious thought. Dawn of twentieth Century saw number of experiments conducted in this direction: Some reports said that the American government set aside 23 million dollars for scientific experiments for the purpose. More than ten research centres had sprung up in the US even though the believers objected the proposal to investigate prayer within the frame work of science.

Experiments were conducted in two different ways for establishing validity of prayer for curing illnesses: In one, Prayers were offered with the knowledge of the patients. In the other, prayers were carried out without the knowledge of the patients.

The New Mexico University conducted experiments on forty alcoholics who were patients in a rehabilitation centre. It was in the year, 1997. The alcoholics included both women and men. Prayers were recited after obtaining their written consent. The prayer session continued uninterruptedly for a couple of months. On completion of the session, a series of tests were made to ascertain the effects of the prayer in reducing their alcoholism and debilities. To the surprise of all, it was found that not a single subject had any improvement, instead they became more depressed and more addicted. Not only that, most of them became ill and unsound.

During the years 1982 and 1983, another series of experiments were carried out without the knowledge of patients. It was an Intercessory Prayer session. The Southern Medical Journal in its July 1988 edition gave full details of the prayer. The heading of the article was, “Positive Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer in a Coronary Care Unit Population”. The experiment was reportedly conducted by one Dr. Randolph C. Berd, MD. Apart from being an expert medical practitioner, Dr. Berd was a faithful follower of a particular Christian Sect. He selected 393 inpatients from a rehabilitation centre. These patients were divided into two groups, one group to be subjected to prayer with their knowledge and consent and the other group without being informed about the prayers for their recovery. The first group was code named as ‘IP Group’ and the Second as ‘Control Group’. The Doctors, Nurses and the faithful who were to conduct prayers for the patients were not allowed to know the details of the patients and for which group they were to provide their services.

The responsibility for offering prayers was assigned to followers of “Born Again” Christian Sect. The prayer hall was arranged in a room outside the hospital premises. The Doctors ensured that the health status of the selected patients was almost equal to one another. There were 192 patients in the IP Group while the number of patients in Control Group was 201. Dr. Berd believed that these arrangements would give reliable results in terms of clinical validity.

The assignees prayed for the recovery of the patients in both the Groups continuously for three-four weeks. On completion of the service, the doctors were requested to identify the patients who were cured as ‘Good’; the patients who made improvement as ‘Middle’ and the patients whose condition became worse as ‘Serious’. While there were none in the group ‘Good” there were hardly anyone in the ‘Middle’ group. All the patients fell in the ‘Serious’ category.

The experiments so elaborately carried out by Dr. Berd and his associates were a sheer waste of time and resources: Nothing concrete with proof of evidence could be established in the experiments. Similar Studies were conducted in AD 2001 by Mayo Clinic but could not prove any effect for prayer on the patients. Another story of failure was published in the American Heart Journal of 2006 edition. All the efforts made so far to prove scientifically the effect of prayer for cure of diseases or improvement of patient-health ended miserably in the negative.

God is an entity that exists only in human thoughts. Prayer and belief in god are the products of human thoughts. Patients are real, their diseases and illnesses are real. Both patients and the diseases exist in the physical plane. No amount of subjective imaginations, subjective thoughts can impact on objective reality. Attempts to prove objectively the benefits of subjective prayer shall therefore be futile.

There is, however, another dimension for the picture of prayers. Dedicated supplication prayer by individuals will be  tiresome task for human brain. It causes over excitation of sensory centres in the cerebral cortex which will result in inhibition followed by hallucinatory experiences. These experiences may be in the form of relief from pains, body aches, worries, agonies, sorrows, grief and enlightenment. In the longer run, these temporary reliefs will make the faithful devotee to ignore the physical and neurological defections. As a result, timely medical or psychiatric treatment will elude the believer which will result in serious consequences.

 

Palmistry – The Mansion of Obscurantism:

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Palmistry is a member of the Occult Family like Astrology. Palmistry is another fortune telling exercise. For forecasting the future, Astrology looks for stars and planets in the skies and prescribes predictions on the basis of the supposed positions of a few selected celestial bodies in the astrological chart drawn up by Astrologers.  But, Palmistry looks for the shape of hands, length of fingers, lines inside the palm, marks and bumps on the left and or right hands of the people who fall for palmistry and its predictions.

Palmistry is known under different names: Palm Reading, Hand Reading, Chirology, Hastha jyotish and Hastha shasthra are some other names for Palmistry. Hastha Shasthra and Hastha Jyothish are Sanskrit words where Hastha means ‘Hand’, Shasthra represents ‘Science’ and Jyothish denotes Astronomy. No wonder, for the inventors of the occult practices, astrology and palmistry were also faculties of Science. But then, one should have to admit that the origin of these practices belongs to a period where light of science was a matter of dream.

Palmistry is believed to have originated in ancient India, as part and parcel of its enlightened philosophical thoughts. Hundreds of years ago, Sage Valmiki is said to have written many verses revealing various facets of Palmistry when the rest of the world was still in the dark about the subject. Many ancient scriptures contain verses on Palmistry and the virtues of its practice. It is presumed that from India astrology spread to China, Tibet, Egypt, Persia and Europe. One heresy is that Alexander the Great, with the assistance of Aristotle used Palmistry to examine the abilities of his military officers. About the lines on one’s palm, Aristotle is stated to have remarked, “Lines are not written into the human hand without reason. They emanate from heavenly influences and man’s own individuality”.  Hippocrates is believed to have used palmistry to support clinical procedures. Such was the eminence and stature Palmistry upheld in the Occident in those days.

In the Oriental, other than in India, Palmistry practice was popular in Tibet, China and Persia. In the past, Palmistry was a flourishing practice among Hindus, Sumerians, Tibetans, Hebrews, Babylonians and Persians. It doesn’t mean that Palmistry is no more in practice today: The truth is otherwise: Despite the spread of science and scientific temper among the people, there are believers who go after Palmistry to seek clarity on their survival chart in the future. The trend keeps the fortune telling clan called by different names like Palmists, Palm Readers, Hand Readers, Hand Analysts or Chirologists to earn a living on the gullibility of their clientele.

The Palmist scrutinizes life line, heart line, head line, cuts, curves, shapes and other cross marks in the palm of the fortune seekers. Then he makes predictions based on certain believed parameters in the shape, curvature, length and cuts in the lines on the palm.

There is no proof of evidence that the lines, marks, shapes et al of the hands of the subject has any relation to what is going to happen in or during the life-span of a person. As in the case of any other obscurantistic  beliefs, no one is entitled to question the validity or truth of the predictions. The clientele who pay for the predictions meekly but enthusiastically leave the Palmist with folded hands.

The lines and the shapes of the hands mostly depend on the size of the body of the subject. The lines in the hands can have some bearing on the type of body and the way one bends the palms and the fingers. These facts have no substance in Palmistry and these facts do not save Palmistry out of the clutches of obscurantism.

Palmistry is a hoax: Text books on Palmistry states that a long and straight life line in the palm is a sign of healthy long life.  Similar is the case of heart lines and headlines. The famous Rationalist of Sree Lanka, late Dr. A. T. Kovoor, in collaboration with his doctor friends in a hospital at Colombo had disproved the claims of Palmistry in this regard. The team found that some of the dead bodies of young men in the mortuary in the hospital had lengthy perfect life lines, headlines and heart lines on their palms: Still those young men had to face untimely death.

Palmistry is a fallacious tract, devoid of even a trace of scientific truth in its path. Palmists  are disguised cheats, whether they know it or not, the fact remains that the innocent superstitious believers are subjugated to suffer mentally, physically, culturally and monetarily at the hands of Palmistry.  No other creatures other than humans have that peculiar trait to build mansions in the air using non-existent materials and gain material benefits out of nothing. Palmistry along with other occult practices lives in such mansions in the air. The mansions are there for rentals to the cheats and for visits by the obscurantists.

Occultism – The Clandestine Benevolence Of The Yore

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Attributes and explanations to and for Occultism are really awesome: Awe and wonder are there in all paranormal experiences, but the experience that is bestowed by and through occultism is fearsome for one thing and destructive for the other, both so relevant.

Occultism is knowledge of the Supernatural; Occultism surpasses Nature; Occultism is beyond Human powers; Occultism is above Ordinary knowledge; Occultism is disclosed only to the Initiated.

Thus goes the twisty way leading to the abode of occultism. The way is misty and the abode is impenetrable to common sense.

The word ‘Occult’ owes its origin to ‘Occultus’ of Latin linguafranca: Occultus refers to something which is secret and clandestine. The clandestine knowledge of Occultism is secret: The secret knowledge is the propriety of the one who is the Initiated that is the one who is introduced to hidden or secret knowledge which is clandestine.

The aim and purpose of the hidden, secret, paranormal and the out of the natural phenomena of Occultism are primarily meant for mischievous and clandestine dealings: The dealings are handled by section of the humans who are the Initiated ones.

The members of the Occult family are innumerable:  Telepathy, Clairvoyance, Alchemy, Astrology, Palmistry, Parrotstrology, Ouija, Tarot, Sorcery, Tantra, Sex magic, Transcendental meditation, Yogic trance, Nudism, Subconscious mind, Super conscious mind and similar other concepts and practices belong well within the family of Occultism. Of these, the most acclaimed occult members are Telepathy and Clairvoyance. All these practices owe their parentage to the so-called paranormal, supernatural, out of the world entities.

Beginning of occultism and occult practices can be traced to the origin of Beliefs:

Long before homo sapiens reached the stage of civil society, what the wandering prehistoric humans, wandering for food and shelter in the dangerous terrain of the surface of earth, feared the most was wild animals, thunder, lightning, rains and floods. They started believing that these calamitous agents are the creation of unknown powers and that pleasing of the unknown, supernatural powers would help them defeat the odds of the nature. Thus was the beginning of Belief in supernatural powers; Belief that was born out of fear. The belief thus evolved started traversing in two distinct directions. One path followed rituals and practices for propitiating god for the good of a group of humans which later became religion. The other path resorted to propitiating the supernatural for maleficent objectives. These practices had developed into Occultism and Occult practices. All the religions, including the antique and the modern, stoutly follow occultism as the other path of religious benevolence.

Occultism is closely linked to religion and religious beliefs. Religious Texts teach that there is a malicious power which is almost equal but opposite to the divine powers of the almighty god. By propitiating this satanic power, the Initiated ones can create secret experiences which are beyond or outside the scope of science and scientific enquiry. Such experiences are believed to owe their parentage to the family of Occultism.

Experiences of occultism are believed to traverse through an extraneous sense which is described as the ‘Sixth Sense’.

All humans and almost all higher animals have five senses. They represent the faculties of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching. These sensory experiences are produced by the processes  of excitation and inhibition of the five sensory centres like, visual centre, auditory centre, olfactory centre, motor centre et al situated in the cerebral cortex of the brain. In the absence of the existing five sense organs and the sensory centres, no one including the people of extreme religious faiths and the persons of the deepest spiritual achievements, can ever have any sensory experiences. Scientists have proved that persons whose cortex had been damaged did not have sensory experiences. The story of sixth is a fallacy. That itself is proof enough that occultism is just another trickery to malign the innocence of believers.

Experiences relating to things and matters which have objective reality in the physical plane are generated by brain activity. There are experiences relating to things and matters which have no objective reality in the physical plane: Such experiences are also the working results of the brain. But the experiences of the latter category may be traced to abnormal functioning of the nervous system of the beholders. Neuroscience has proved that these subjective experiences are delusion centric illusions and hallucinations. They stand real for the ones who experience because of their deranged mental conditions.

Occultism is one of the several other mystic concerns of the antique philosophies: Perhaps, in the absence of science and scientific methods of evaluation, the thinkers of the past had no other way available before them to codify subjective experiences. The only route in front of them was the path of mysticism: They channelized all the then inexplicable experiences through extra-sensory and supernatural entities. Thus was the emergence of Occultism which stands out today as the store house of obscurantism before the light of Science and Technology. Let not Occultism be put in the dust bin of absurdity: Let Occultism be preserved as the ‘Clandestine Benevolence of the Yore’.

The Miracle Master, Ouija.

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Ouija practice belongs to the Occult Family of gullibility. According to the gullible believers, Soul,  the Spirit, presents itself through Ouija to move objects in tandem to predict events in the life of persons who go after Ouija for the purpose. Believers claim that Ouija was revealed during a séance by the Spirit World to an Occidental spiritualist called Kennard. In the Ancient Egyptian linguafranca Ouija meant “good luck”. It is also said that the word Ouija is related to the name of the Moroccan city, ‘Oujda’.

Ouija Board is a device consisting of a moving wooden plank placed on a larger board. The board is also called ‘talking board’ or ‘spirit board’. The surface of the board is flat with letters A to Z in the alphabet, numerals from 0 to 9, Words ‘Yes’  and ‘No’ and certain other spiritualistic symbols,  printed thereon.

Ouija operation is normally carried out during séances. Ouija believers think that the paranormal or supernatural spirit makes the board talk through signs and symbols. The fortune seekers pose questions to the spirit after placing their fingers on the moving plank. The board gives the answers through yes or no or through combining the letters in the alphabet or by the numerals, printed on the board.

The practice was popular in America and other European Countries till the late twentieth century. Even now, though not as popular as it used to be, the Ouija board practice is in prevalence in the Occident, prominently among the wayward youth who seeks the spirit world for fun and fancy. Some among them believe that the talking board is the realm where life’s mysteries can find solutions. Others consider it as a way for enlightenment. There are also skeptics who believe it as extra ordinarily magical. In any case, for all believers, the device is a tool of spiritualistic communication. The belief is based on an absurd concept that spirits, ghosts and other ethereal beings have an insatiable thirst to contact living beings. The thirst may be of no harm to the practitioners or it may cause emotional hurt and physical debilitation.

Suppose an aspirant who is worried about his future, places his fingers on the rotating board and asks the spirit whether his future is bright. It is said that in all such situations the so called inner will of the believer would be craving for an ‘yes’ answer. Therefore, the motor activity of his finger will impose automatic force on the Ouija board to rotate and to stop moving as soon as it touches the word ‘yes’. Depending upon the automatic motion, the answer can be ‘no’ as well. The same is the principle involved in choosing appropriate letters and numerals as answers handed out by the ethereal spirits.

The picture of Ouija is entirely different in the Oriental, especially in India, the spiritualist leader among all. In India, the Bharat of ancient cultures, the name Ouija is never mentioned: The wooden planchet is neither talking board nor spirit board. The board is employed to foretell the fortunes of believers with the aid of divine powers of the Sanysis and Spiritual Gurus. The fortune seekers are also not required to place their hands or fingers on the board, neither is inscriptions marked on the board.

According to the practice in India, before the program starts, a saffron coloured blanket is put on a hard ground. Then the soothe sayer spreads wheat grains on the blanket. Afterwards, the round wooden board is placed carefully on top of a brass bowl called “pata” or “lota” which is kept in the middle of the grain-spread, saffron blanket. A devotee-follower of the Sanyasi sits balancing himself on the board, with his fingers touching the ground. The board rested on the brass bowl then starts rotating in different directions and stops at a particular point. The Sanyasi then reveals his oracle on the basis of the direction at which the devotee faces and the planchet rests.

This writer was a member of a Miracle Exposure Campaign Group that debunked the Ouija miracle. It was in the year 1976. One spiritualist Sanyasi, named Laskari Baba of Yeotmal in Maharashtra State of India was propagating his divine powers in moving objects and making wooden boards rotate at will. His antics in villages and towns became a real nuisance. He was looting the innocent believers by his tantrums and forcing them to part with their earnings to ensure their future, bright.

Under the leadership of Dr. C G Pande, Head of the Psychology Department of Nagpur University, we forced the Baba to come forward and show his miracles in the presence of Media Editors, the Police Chief,   Professors, and Lecturers of the nearby Colleges. At last, Laskari Baba came forward: After setting his paraphernalia in place, he requested one of his devotees to sit on the wooden plank which was rested on the brass bowl. He chanted some mantras and shouted, “Ghuma, Ghuma” (meaning “rotate”, in Marathi Language). The plank started moving and rotating in one direction. We, thereupon, insisted that the Baba should allow a Rationalist friend who was among the audience to sit on the plank. Finally, the miracle man conceded the request: The Rationalist sat on the board: The Baba started repeating “ghuma, ghuma” several times. But the plank did not move.

Thus was the end of Lashkari Baba’s tryst with the Ouija treachery. The Ouija fallacy was debunked; the Media flashed the news all across.

What was working while the devotee was sitting on the board was automatic muscle movement. But when the Rationalist sat on the plank, the muscle movement did not take place because he was not carried away by the mantra and divine powers of the spiritual Guruji.

Sections of objective analysts attribute the movement of the Ouija board or the divine planchet to what is called ideomotor motion. Ideomotor motion is involuntary muscle movement. It is explained that while a person thinks of an action and concentrates on the thought, his muscles make automatic pressure in favour of the action thought of. It is a real phenomenon: Neuroscience explains the phenomenon as reflex action. The reflex is conditioned by the formation of a temporary nerve connections in tune with the excitation of the sensory centres in the cerebral cortex of the beholder. It has nothing to do with nonexistent spirits, ghosts or divine powers. Ouija is an absurd practice which is one  among the many obcurantistic thirsts of gullible believers.

 

Parrotstrology And The Fortune Teller Parrot.

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Parrotstrology is Parrot Astrology, – a fortune telling Tantrum. In Parrotstrology the Parrot deployed for the task hands out predictions in association with its Master.

Parrotstrology is a popular occult practice one encounters in India, especially in the Southern States of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.  Parrotstrology involves two key performers: They are, one, an average, middle aged Master wearing white clothes whose forehead is smeared with vermilion. The other performer is a green feathered Parakeet. A third party is always crucial without which the Man the first and the Parakeet the second, would have to starve: The third party conglomerate is the viewers and the soothe-seekers.

The parrot, which predicts, is kept in a small cage made out of bamboo or wooden straps with an opening door. The cage is placed in front of the interpreter Master on a piece of saffron clothe. A poorly lit oil lamp is usually kept nearby because the prediction trade starting during the day may go on till late in the night.

The venue of Parrotstrology is busy street corners and roadsides leading to temples where festivals are going on. They are also usual sights at every crowded place in cities and towns.  Other than the parrot and its cage, the paraphernalia of the astrologer include twenty seven tarot cards, each depicting pictures of gods and goddesses and the Stars in the Hindu Astrological Chart. These cards would be stacked in a row, one over the other.

The Parrotstrloger does not charge anything big as fee; in fact he seldom demands any fee:  It is the prerogative of the prediction seeker to put an amount which may range anything between Rupees five to ten, on an average.  As soon as the fee is placed on the clothe before the door of the parrot cage, the Astrologer-Interpreter opens the cage, the parrot comes out of the cage, looks around, makes some shrieking sound, picks up a card from the stack, drops it and retreats to the cage. The Parrotstrloger then gives the Parrot a piece of cracked nut, takes up the tarot card and starts his prediction discourse:

As prelude to the session, the Parrotstrloger asks a few questions to the Parrot: The usual questions go like this:

“Dear birdie, have you selected the right card?”

The parakeet answers “Yes”, by making a shriek.

“Birdie Cute, is this seeker really lucky?”

The parakeet answers, “Yes”, by a shriek.

“Hi Birdie, will everything be good for the seeker?”

The parakeet answers, “No” by a turn of its head in a negative mode.

The Parakeet answers each question through “Yes” or “No” by means of the first signal system of signs and symbols. The viewers become curious and the customer fortune seeker becomes awestricken. The fortune-teller Parrotstrloger then starts his prediction by reading the tarot card chosen by the parrot: He tells,

“Oh! Gracious Seeker, you are a blessed soul. Your future is glorious; but there will be minor irritants here and there: You have to offer prayers before god Ganpathy and goddess Bhadrakali to ward off bad luck. Everything will become nice; you will achieve great things in your life.”

There, thus ends the predictions. The performance of the Parrot looks mysterious: How the bird picks up the specific tarot card marked with the astrological star declared by the fortune-seeker; how the Parrot answers by shrieks and head-shakes,- are matters which common man cannot answer: For him, all these are spiritual powers of the almighty endowed on the blessed soul of the Parakeet.

When the phenomena are examined in the light of neuroscience, it will be clear that there is nothing mysterious or extra-sensory in the actions of the Parakeet in Parrotstrology. The principle involved is the same as that of training of lower animals for entertainments like in the case of lions in circus tents and in the case of dancing-snakes in tune with Snake Charmers’ flute.Snake Dance – The Imitative and The Real @ http://www.myscienceblog.life-livewell.com

What is happening in Parrotstrology is the working of a conditioned reflex of certain nerve connections formed in consonance with the simultaneous excitation of the motor centre and the visual center in the parrot’s nervous system, its petit brain:  The temporary nerve connection is formed   by repetitive movement of the bird-trainer’s thumb just like in the case of snake charmer’s flute:

Suppose the bird trainer places a piece of cracked nut on a tarot card, in front of the cage after keeping the door of the cage open and gives a minor hit with a side-push on its head in the direction where the card is kept. The parrot then makes a shriek of sound, turns its head and picks up the card to eat the piece of nut. Repetition of this process for several times creates a conditioned nerve connection (a conditioned reflex) in the bird’s brain in line with the movements of the bird trainer’s thumb. Afterwards, whenever the cage-door is opened and the thumb movement is introduced, the bird starts moving its head in the direction indicated by the thumb and picks up the tarot card. The viewers seldom notice the innocuous thumb movement of the Parrotstrologer: Even if they notice it nothing could be of significance for them.    And the viewers and the fortune seekers, almost always, take it as if the Parakeet was picking up the specific tarot card, making shrieks  and moving its head in one direction or the other  according to the divine powers vested on the Parakeet.

Parrotstrology is one of the several occult practices prevailing in the Indian sub-continent.  The practice also extends to nearby Countries like Singapore, Indonesia and Sree Lanka where Hindus have migrated and settled down.  Parrotstrology nurtures and sustains gullibility of the people as all other occult practices do.